Ancient Greece Keywords

Almost every time you study a new topic, there will be new words you'll encounter that you don't know the meaning of. Here is a list of some of the ones you might encounter whilst researching Ancient Greece:



Acropolis: Meaning ‘high city’, it was a fortified city, built on high ground.

Agoge: Sparta's state education system.

Agora: An open space in the middle of a Greek city, used for markets and as a meeting place.

Athens: A powerful city-state with its own government, laws, army and navy. It is the modern day capital of Greece.

Citizenship: Only free men in Athens could have citizenship. They had the right to take part in politics and serve in the army.

City State: A politically independent state consisting of an city and its surrounding territory.

Democracy: A political system introduced by the ancient Greeks, in which all citizens had a say in the running of the state. The word comes from the Greek words demos meaning ‘people’ and kratos meaning ‘rule’.

Gods and Goddesses: the ancient Greeks believed in many different gods and goddesses who were immortal (lived forever) and had supernatural powers.

Heroes: heroes were the offspring of gods or goddesses and humans. They still had supernatural powers like the gods, but were mortal (they would die).

Olympics: A religious festival held in honour of the god Zeus, attended by people from all over Greece.

Olympus: Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece and the Greeks believed this was the home of the gods.

Parthenon: A huge temple on top of the acropolis in Athens

Sparta: A city-state in southern Greece, which was famous for its strict military training and army.



You may encounter others; remember to check the glossary that is often in the back of non-fiction books, an encyclopaedia or a dictionary. If you still can't find what you're looking for, ask your teacher or Ms. Page in the library.